We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Imaging Biopsy Needle Makes Brain Surgery Safer

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 09 Jan 2019
Image: Professor Robert McLaughlin (R) with the smart needle (Photo courtesy University of Adelaide).
Image: Professor Robert McLaughlin (R) with the smart needle (Photo courtesy University of Adelaide).
A novel biopsy needle that contains a miniaturized optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe can help surgeons identify and avoid blood vessels during brain surgery.

Developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide (UA; Australia), Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Nedlands, Australia), and other institutions, the miniaturized fiber-optic OCT probe is integrated into a standard commercial neurosurgical stereotactic biopsy needle. Brain tissue is illuminated using near-infrared (NIR) light, and the backscattered optical signal from different depths is extracted using low-coherence interferometry and reconstructed into a structural image of the tissue, typically at a spatial resolution of 5-20 μm.

The researchers then tested the probe intraoperatively in eleven patients undergoing craniotomy, using it to detect blood vessels at risk of causing intracranial hemorrhage. The probe successfully detected surface blood vessels with a sensitivity of 91.2% and a specificity of 97.7%, and was also able to detect deep cerebral blood vessels. And as OCT is label free, the researchers did not need a contrast agent, relying on endogenous optical scatterers in the tissue. The study was published on December 19, 2018, in Science Advances.

“The fiber-optic camera, the size of a human hair, shines infrared light onto the brain tissue. And the computer system behind the needle identifies the blood vessel and alerts the surgeon,” said senior author Professor Robert McLaughlin, PhD, chair of Biophotonics at the University of Adelaide. “The imaging needle lets surgeons ‘see’ at-risk blood vessels as they insert the needle, allowing them to avoid causing bleeds. This is the first reported use of such a probe in the human brain during live surgery, and is the first step in the long process required to bring new tools like this into clinical practice.”

OCT is based on low-coherence interferometry, typically using NIR light, a relatively long wavelength that allows it to penetrate into the scattering medium. Depending on the properties of the light source, OCT can achieve sub-micrometer resolution. Despite being an echo imaging method (like ultrasound), it is limited to imaging 1-2 mm below the surface in biological tissue, as at greater depths the proportion of light that escapes without scattering is too small to be detected.

Related Links:
University of Adelaide
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
Portable Color Doppler Ultrasound Scanner
DCU10
Biopsy Software
Affirm® Contrast
Digital Radiographic System
OMNERA 300M
Digital X-Ray Detector Panel
Acuity G4

Channels

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: The new implantable device for chronic pain management is small and flexible (Photo courtesy of The Zhou Lab at USC)

Wireless Chronic Pain Management Device to Reduce Need for Painkillers and Surgery

Chronic pain affects millions of people globally, often leading to long-term disability and dependence on opioid medications, which carry significant risks of side effects and addiction.... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: The diagnostic tool could improve diagnosis and treatment decisions for patients with chronic lung infections (Photo courtesy of SNMMI)

Novel Bacteria-Specific PET Imaging Approach Detects Hard-To-Diagnose Lung Infections

Mycobacteroides abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacteria that primarily affects immunocompromised patients and those with underlying lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.